The Phone Call
by Roxy Parkington
Summary: Want something that's short, sweet, and not too overly fluffy? Then this story might just be for you! Misty Waterflower's turning thirteen years old and is about to recieve a gift she least expects...


The Phone Call

Happy belated birthday, Briana, here's your gift! I'm an avid Pokeshipper too, so this one-shot was fun to write, especially during my sixth period English class! This story is dedicated to you and all the serious (by "serious" I mean anti-gaki) Ash/Misty shippers like ourselves; may their love live on, no matter what the distance. Let's get on with it, then!

Twelve-year-old Ash Ketchum awoke to feel Pikachu's soft fur against his cheek, the sun streaming in through the window of the Pokemon Center he, Brock, May, and Max had come to spend the night in. Tailow had found a nice perch atop one of the bunk bed's bedposts, while Treecko sat sleeping against the bedpost; the rest of his Pokemon were sleeping soundly in their Pokeballs. Ash grinned at the sound of his human companions as they slept all around him; May was in the bed just beneath him, while Brock and Max were in the second bunk bed across from them. He turned to look out the window at the blue sky; today would be a good day for training for their battle in Fallarbor Town.

As a sudden thought occurred to Ash, he slapped his forehead in frustration. How could he forget what today was, of all the days he could forget?!

Today was Misty Waterflower's thirteenth birthday.

Meanwhile, across the ocean and miles from the Hoenn region, Misty Waterflower herself was just beginning to awaken in her home, located in Cerulean City, Kanto. She wandered down the hall and into the kitchen wrapped in her sky blue bathrobe, fresh and warm from the dryer. Ever since her three sisters Daisy, Violet, and Lily had left on their trip to who-knows-where, Misty had grown into an independent young girl who knew how to take care of the responsibilities that came with running a Pokemon gym of her own. Over the two-month period since her sisters left, she had grown fond of sugared coffee and had adopted it as her morning drink.

Just as she turned on the coffeemaker, a low shuffling from the entrance to the kitchen caught her attention. Starmie was there, Togepi cuddled to his side. Due to Misty's hectic schedule, Starmie had become Togepi's surrogate father, and now Togepi was just as fond of Starmie as he was of Misty.

"You guys were hungry, huh?" Misty grinned, turning from the coffeemaker to look them over. "I'll get you something in a minute, you know how I am in the morning." Togepi nodded, sharing a small smile with the person he considered his mother. Once the coffee was done, Misty poured herself a hot mug of the drink, added the right amount of sugar, and returned to the table, Togepi finding his way into her lap. She sighed after taking several sips. "I'm thirteen years old today, Togepi, and I'm spending my birthday alone. No cake or presents…nothing. At least it's a Saturday, so there won't be a gym battle." 'It'd be great if…no, I can't wish for that,' she thought with a tinge of bitterness. 'Birthday wishes are simple fairy tales, nothing more.'

"Pika?" Pikachu inquired curiously as he leapt onto his best friend's shoulder. Was Ash preparing for their training already? After a peaceful night's rest, he was up and eager to go, but Ash seemed to be in a hurry.

"We'll train in twenty minutes, buddy, I promise. Besides, Tailow and Treecko deserve their extra rest since Treecko's been practicing Bullet Seed so much," Ash replied as he threw on his clothes and hat. "I've got something important to do." He walked softly across the room and closed the door so his friends wouldn't wake up; only Pikachu went downstairs with him.

Yes, there were the videophones! Ash raced to the first empty booth, but suddenly realized he didn't know the number to the Cerulean Gym. "Uh…" he muttered to himself, finally deciding to try the operator. He pressed the zero button and a young woman in her early twenties with waist-length brown hair appeared on the screen.

"Hoenn Videophone Operating Service, how may I connect your call?" she said in a clipped but happy tone, and the vague thought crossed Ash's mind that she resembled a recording. He sat down on the videophone bench and pressed the green receiver to his ear while Pikachu moved into his lap.

"Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, Kanto, and I'd like to place a connect call to the Cerulean City gym in Kanto," he answered with the faintest trace of a smile.

"One minute and I'll be happy to connect you. Have a nice day!" the operator smiled. The Pidgey animation was now on the screen and Ash watched it, not really paying much attention to either the dial tone ringing in his ears or Pikachu, for that matter. What could he do, what could he say after all these months apart…?

"Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, phone call, phone call," chirped the animated Pidgey displayed on the Waterflower family's videophone screen, located in the family room. Misty hadn't bothered to get up just yet, although her coffee was long gone and she was still in her bathrobe. She was just starting back to her bedroom to get ready for the day when she heard the videophone ringing.

"Ugh, I suppose I'd better get that," she muttered irritably. "Probably some trainer wanting to schedule a battle for the Cascade Badge…Hello?" she asked, feigning politeness.

"Happy birthday, Misty!" exclaimed a cheerful voice on the other end, and when Misty saw who it was smiling back at her she was sure she would either drop the phone or scream with happiness. She chose the second choice.

"A-Ash!" she exclaimed, her voice nearly reaching a shriek of ecstasy. "It's so awesome to see your face after all this time! How's training been, and have you seen any interesting water Pokemon?"

"Yeah, I have, but you'll have to see them for yourself when you come here. I have Treecko, Tailow, Corphish, Pikachu, and some others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Sorry, it's still early in the morning," he grinned sheepishly.

Ah, how she loved to see him smile like that, he could make that fiery temper of hers just melt away when they used to travel together. "Yeah, I know, I was just finishing up my morning coffee."

Ash seemed taken aback when she said that. "You've started drinking coffee?"

"Not all the time, just in the morning when I first wake up, and even then with two packs of sugar," Misty grinned. "Could you hold on a second, Ash, I'm going to go get dressed."

"Sure," Ash replied as she put the phone down and hurried back to her bedroom, Togepi at her heels all the while. On an average day, Misty dressed in about fifteen minutes, but this morning she moved like quicksilver, pulling her red hair into its usual side ponytail; she loved it that way.

"Okay, I'm back," she said finally, returning to the videophone. "What's it like in Hoenn?"

"Just awesome!" Ash smiled, speaking in the determined tone he used when discussing Pokemon battles. "They have double battles here, and all my Pokemon are getting along really well. What about the Cerulean gym, is it okay?"

"Oh, did I not tell you?" Misty asked, suddenly recalling what she was about to tell him earlier. "Tracey's been helping me with the gym, and he's teaching Psyduck how to swim."

"Any progress?" Ash asked with a knowing smirk, and Misty could feel her temper flare.

"Don't smirk at me, Ash Ketchum!" she snarled, but she couldn't hide a grin of her own. "Tracey went home, and as skilled as I am with water Pokemon, even I can't teach that darn duck a thing. He's quite stubborn…just like someone else I know."

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed, trying to sound upset, but the giggles escaped both of them just the same. "Say hi to Pikachu, Misty."

"Are you doing a good job of keeping Ash and Brock in line?" Misty asked Pikachu, but he only gave her a wink in response. "Good." Silence fell between them for a few seconds until Ash whispered, "Misty?"  
"Hmmm, something wrong?" Misty ventured. A serious expression had taken over Ash's features, something she rarely saw coming from a boy as determined as he was.

"Well, yeah. Misty…I miss you every day, you know. Once when we were watching the Millennium Comet, a friend of mine was upset, and I told him about you. I told him that we were best friends and that we would always be in each other's hearts."

"You know, I was afraid you had forgotten me, but the fact that you called me just proves otherwise," Misty replied softly, fighting both tears of happiness and sadness that she couldn't celebrate her special day with her best friends. "T-Thanks for remembering my birthday."  
"No problem, I wanted to call you so badly, but I was so focused on training that I didn't have a chance. You'll come to Hoenn sometime, right?" he asked hopefully.

A small grin spread over Misty's face at a sudden idea. "I might come sooner than you think," she said slyly, but Ash was confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, you'll see. I hope we can see each other again soon!"

"You too!"

"Bye Ash, bye Pikachu!" she said with a grin and when they finished waving, she hung up.

"Brii?" Togepi asked, tugging on her leg. Misty smiled at her baby Pokemon, picked him up, and twirled him around in her arms.

"I could sing Togepi, but I'm not going to. We're going to Hoenn, come on!" Starmie, who had been in the kitchen the entire time that Misty was on the videophone, joined them on their walk to the indoor swimming pool, where Staryu, Goldeen, Horsea, and Gyrados, were swimming. Misty sat Togepi down on a nearby bench before taking her Pokeballs off her belt. "Return, everyone, we can swim later," she told them. Her friends regarded her curiously, but she only smiled as they obligingly returned to their Pokeballs. The only ones left were Togepi, who was in Misty's arms, and Gyrados. She returned Gyrados, but didn't release him until she had left the gym entirely, locking the entrance as she went out. Usually on walks like this, she stopped to admire the scenery, but now she was only focused on the docks.

"Let's go, Gyrados!" she exclaimed as he appeared in the shallow water underneath the dock with an energetic roar. Misty slipped onto his back, Togepi pressed tight against her chest so he could be shielded from the salt water. "To Hoenn!" A second later, they were speeding toward the open sea.

'Well, what do you know,' Misty thought smilingly. 'I finally got my birthday wish after all…'

"Alright, now we can go train, Pikachu," Ash was saying just as Max wandered into the lobby, yawning. He then noticed that his friend was sitting by the videophone; who could he be calling this early in the morning?

"Who were you calling?" Max asked curiously. "It's so early…"

Ash and Pikachu smiled to themselves. "Nobody special," Ash replied. "Just an old friend, Max, just an old friend."


End file.
